Action Alerts — Cardiovascular
CMS issues proposed rule on outpatient PPS for CY 2002
As a continued service to our members, the AAMA specialty group American College of Cardiovascular Administrators (ACCA) is attuned to recommended changes in federal laws, guidelines and reimbursement as they relate to cardiovascular medicine. In that light, we would like to make you aware of some important recommended changes to the Medicare outpatient hospital reimbursement payment system.
On February 28, 2002, CMS released long-awaited corrections to the 2002 hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS), which took effect on April 1, 2002. Implementation of the final rule concerning payment rates, originally published Nov. 30, 2001, was delayed to correct technical errors “that would have inappropriately affected payments to hospitals.” The subsequent recalculations adjusted the 2002 pro rata reduction of pass-through payments, but had only a negligible effect on most APC payment rates.
Superstitious? Thirteen APCs caused delay
In the original final rule released on Nov. 30, 2001, CMS intended to complete its “fold-in” of 75 percent of pass-through device costs into their associated procedural APCs. However, the agency had performed calculations incorrectly for 13 APC groups, and the errors would have impacted all other APC payment rates. Several cardiovascular-related APCs had to be adjusted as part of the corrected final rule, resulting in significant payment changes for some procedures.